A Philadelphia Story That's Similar, But Different

Villanova and St. John's have always been similar to some degree, and still are with potential GQ cover boys Jay Wright and Steve Lavin on the sidelines. (Both photos courtesy of New York Daily News)

For most of the last two decades, you could look at Villanova and St. John's and see many glaring similarities between the two teams, almost as if one school wished it could be the other. The Red Storm held the edge in this rivalry back in the mid-to-late 1990s when Felipe Lopez and Ron Artest were going up against Kerry Kittles and Michael Bradley, only to have the Wildcats turn the tables in the 2000s on the way to winning eight of ten against the Storm, including the last six. In fact, the last time St. John's tasted victory against the Wildcats was back on February 11, 2003, which was also the last time (before this season) the Red Storm defeated Duke. See any familiar trends here?

If St. John's has taught us one thing this season, it's that records are meant to be broken. With a resurgence that has rejuvenated a once-apathetic fan base into the rabid Redmen of old, coupled with its first national ranking since the year 2000, the Johnnies are back; and making a statement for themselves by winning games against Top 25 teams that past incarnations of the boys from Queens would have fallen to pieces against. Led by a local conquering hero in Bronx native and senior guard Dwight Hardy and breakout star swingman Justin Brownlee, these are not your daddy's Johnnies. Head coach Steve Lavin is also following his own yellow brick road to redemption after his triumphant return to the college coaching ranks this past March, while simultaneously redefining the art of coaching, not to mention defying convention with his fashion statements. Since January 30th, Lavin and his staff have taken to wearing sneakers on the court along with deciding to forgo wearing a tie. Originally intended to support the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, the trend has taken on a life of its own, and the Red Storm is 7-1 in that stretch; with quality wins over Duke, Connecticut and Pittsburgh over that eight-game period, and the coach isn't reverting to the old look anytime soon. "I felt I was doing a more effective job of teaching," Lavin said after his St. John's team upset then-No. 4 Pittsburgh last week at Madison Square Garden. And they call Phil Jackson the Zen Master.

Tomorrow in Philadelphia, Lavin faces a coach similar to him in both appearance and approach as Jay Wright now enters his tenth year on the Main Line since leaving Hofstra to go to Villanova. There are other similar matchups, namely a battle of the Bronx at the point guard position between Hardy and Villanova's Corey Fisher; but it's the glamour matchup of the men in the suits that gets the most attention, and has since the Pitt game last week after Lavin said in his postgame press conference that Wright was the George Clooney of coaches and Lavin's hero. "I'm attracted to Jay, and my wife knows it," joked Lavin when asked about the upcoming matchup with Villanova. The fun didn't stop there, however. At yesterday's pregame press conference on the St. John's campus, Lavin wore a bracelet bearing the phrase "WWJayD?," a satire of the "What Would Jesus Do?" slogan; a gift given to the coach by St. John's athletic communications staff member Mariel Brady.

While St. John's has come in winning five in a row and seven of their last eight, Villanova has struggled recently by losing three of five and playing close games every time out since their 16-point win over West Virginia three weeks ago tomorrow. Both teams have inexplicable losses; but whereas St. John's has seemingly held it together since their collapse against Fordham in December, the Wildcats have dropped close affairs to Rutgers and Providence, both of whom are in the lower half of the Big East standings. Moreover, the City of Brotherly Love has seen two consecutive losses at home, while St. John's has won its last two on the road.

The keys to victory are where the few differences are illustrated, though. For St. John's, it's simple: Get the most out of the matchup zone defense that has stifled the majority of its Big East opponents, while also limiting open looks from beyond the arc and limiting their tendency to foul. The Johnnies also need to get the Villanova big men into foul trouble the same way they did against Gary McGhee of Pittsburgh. For Villanova, it's not the guards this time around. I know you'll read this and think there's something wrong with me given that 'Nova has always been a guard-oriented team; but against a team like St. John's, the Wildcats' strength is in their frontcourt. Antonio Pena and Mouphtaou Yarou are bigger than Brownlee and Dwayne Polee, (who will likely be matched up against them at the opening tip) as well as reserves Justin Burrell and Sean Evans. If Villanova can establish a strong inside game within the opening minutes, they will have already won half the battle; and if the Coreys (Fisher and Stokes) are even moderately effective, this game could be a runaway before it even gets underway.

The lineups, style and coaches can all be compared more than they could be contrasted. Even the student sections are among the best in the Big East, as St. John's "Johnny Jungle" is able to go head-to-head with 'Nova Nation for forty minutes. Yet in this matchup of similarities, there are many differences between the two, (some have been mentioned above) and the winner will be the team that can exploit the differences better than the other.